Saturday, Nov. 2, fall turkey season gets underway. Hunters will be trying to get a bird for Thanksgiving, the traditional bird many people feast upon during this festive holiday.

Sportsmen now have ample opportunities that they can count on for futuristic endeavors. This includes camouflaged clothing, calling devices and shared knowledge hunters can search out via the Internet.

It is amazing how manufacturers have come up with attire that matches the surroundings, particularly trees, leaves and bark, to name such a few. By making clothing to be suitable for outdoor disguise, one can do wonders to fade into the surroundings. The only problem with that is that safety may become a problem. The object is to prevent from being shot. That has to be a feat nowadays. Safety is definitely an issue.

As for the various calls, there are 14 different devices that perform tasks to lure the game birds. Not mentioning all of them, one call that might be used to signal content is the “Purr” fect sound. It is a low communication designed to keep the turkeys in touch and often is made by feeding birds, so states the website of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Another is the “Tree Call.” It is “a series of soft muffled yelps given by a roosted bird that sometimes picks up in volume as fly down time nears. It may be accompanied by soft clucking,” it said.

The Kee Kee” call is usually three-noted and lasts about two seconds. “It is often associated with fall hunting,” the website stated, “and is used to reassemble a scattered flock.”

Some of the other calls include the Assemble Call, a Plain Yelp, an Excited Yelp, the Gobble and the Cluck.

For mouth devices, “Place a new diaphragm call halfway between your front teeth and the back of your mouth. If it feels too big and flat, bend the aluminum frame slightly downward. The call should feel more comfortable against your palate. Better yet, you’ll have a better air seal, which will sweeten the sounds of your clucks and yelps,” the www.turkeyhunting.com website stated.

“When you run across a tom strutting, stated the website, “listen to the dominant girl and mock her. If she yelps, you yelp back loudly and aggressively. If she clucks, you cluck spiritedly. Your mocking calls might even lure a satellite tom traveling the fringes of a breeding flock.”

Tips that have been shared over the years both via hunters and using cyber space include the following.

Scouting ahead of time will help the hunter gain knowledge just where these birds may hanging out. Their favorite pickings include acorns, wild grapes, corn, and soybeans. If one finds the latter, make sure permission is granted before heading out on farmer’s fields.

Settling down on one spot and staying put will enable one to listen intently.

“When a gobbler is close and coming, it’s best not to call at all. Let him play the game and strut on in. cluck, yelp and purr softly when a tom gobbles, drums, stirs leaves and snaps sticks with his feet. When a turkey makes noise, his hearing is less acute and it’s tough for him to nail the precise of your calls. When you spot the red and white brain stem and swinging beard, go ahead and shoot,” concluded.

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If you get a turkey this fall and don’t know what to do with the feathers, you have two options, tie flies for your own use or give them to someone who will use them for said purposes.

Turkey tail quills are used for tying nymph patterns. The mottled brown coloration and texture make them a favorite for tying hare’s ear, stoneflies and others as well.

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Congratulations go out to Latrobe’s Lou Sartoris who reportedly got two doe. “I am still waiting to get my buck,” he said last week.